A/N: I decided to combine two chapters again! So today, you get twice the reading! Arguably the most Koopaling intensive chapter yet, this chapter also features at least 50% more fluff.
Also, I had never read mariosonic's collection of one-shots, but when I did, I was absolutely floored by how similar our New Year's scenes were. (I'm in ur hard drive stealin' ur fanfics?) Yeah, so that's pure coincidence, but I encourage you to look at The Princess and the King by mariosonic, because it's really good. Okay, plug over; enjoy the story.
Luigi woke up shivering from the cold. Once again, Boos were haunting his dreams and he had kicked the covers off his bed. He got up and shuffled about in the dark to find the thermostat. After fiddling with the thermostat to turn the heater on, he looked at the clock. It was 5:30 in the morning and far too early to be up on a Sunday. He looked towards his brother's door, hoping he had not disturbed him, only to find the door still open, the bed still made. Mario had not come home last night? Something was going on.
He knew Mario went some place last night, and he could not be with the princess because Toadsworth had said she was off on some kind of political something or other. Even if he was with the princess, there was no way anyone would allow him to sleep at the castle. Not only was it improper, there was also no reason for him to sleep there. Something must be going on.
He wondered if he should call Daisy. Mama mia, not at this hour, she would kill me. Besides, she'd probably jump to conclusions and make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. First, he was lying to Mama and Papa, and now he's staying out late and not coming home at night? Luigi desperately wanted to know what was happening to his once honest older brother.
Roy eagerly forked another whole pancake into his mouth, which was literally dripping with maple syrup and butter.
Wendy made a face of disgust at her older brother. "Wow, like, what a charmer; I bet the ladies just can't keep their claws off you, Roy," she sneered sarcastically.
"You know it!" He grinned, revealing a mouthful of half-chewed pancakes.
Wendy gave him a dirty look and returned to her own breakfast of seasonal fruits and egg whites.
For reasons Peach could not explain, she was feeling very excited to go outside and play in the snow. Bowser was telling her that instead of using the Clown Car, which was not designed to seat ten, he was just going to have Kamek transport them to his massive courtyard area, which contained a great lake and enough snow for everyone to have fun. She bundled up in a large cloak with faux fur lining and cute, pink Eskimo boots under her thick, wintry dress and water-resistant bloomers. Each of the Koopalings ran to the adjacent room, ready to be teleported by Kamek.
Bowser stopped Junior at the door and placed a scarf around his neck. "You can't breathe fire yet, so if you don't wear this, the cold could stunt the growth of your fire glands. Be careful." Junior nodded in affirmation and happily ran to join the others.
Peach felt touched by what a good father Bowser was to his children. She hated to admit it but she had not expected to see him as a competent individual. Naturally, she was quite surprised when Bowser wrapped a long scarf around her neck.
He grinned. "I don't really know what's causing the delay in your fire glands but it can't hurt to be safe."
She smiled and followed him out the door where Kamek had the Koopalings lined up before him. Peach and Bowser silently fell into line while Kamek smiled and bid them to enjoy their day. In a puff of white smoke and a flash of brilliant light, the ten royals found themselves outside, a light snowfall dotting their clothes and hair. In another moment, all the Koopalings scattered in all different directions.
Peach giggled with delight and free-fell backwards into the snow, rolling about and making snow angels. She scooped up a bunch of snow in her hands and threw it upwards, letting it rain back down over her head. When she sat up, her newly tangled hair contained tiny bits of snow and her cheeks were rosy and smiling. "What are you waiting for?" she called to the Koopa King, who appeared to be just standing around watching her have fun.
Bowser dove into the snow and scattered around as much snow as he could. He attempted to copy Peach's snow angel, but when he got up, the spikes in his shell made the snow angel look like she'd been caught in a fusillade of arrows.
"Mama Peach!" cried Junior. "We need your help to make a snow Koopa!"
Some of the older Koopalings had already amassed a snow tower in the rough shape of a Koopa and were now arguing about the correct way to build and shape it. Peach ran over towards the bickering kids.
"Ludo, of course it makes sense in theory, lots of things do, but if you do that it'll be too top heavy and the whole thing will collapse. We need to make a bigger base!" Iggy cried.
"An idiosyncratic hindrance of yours! You are constantly attempting to place function over form! If you enlarge the base, the body won't have an apposite proportion!" Ludwig retorted.
Iggy turned to Peach, "Mama Peach, what do you think is more important? Structural integrity and a well engineered work which respects the laws of physics--?"
Ludwig interrupted, "Or an artistic tour-de-force which appears to transcend those mundane laws and speaks to a higher purpose?"
Peach carefully contemplated her response. She had no idea that today the Koopalings would drag her into a philosophical debate of art versus science. "Well, surely both are very important, and neither could exist without the other. After all, artistic masterpieces could not support themselves without respect for structural laws, but also, even the soundest structures would hardly be worth looking at if not for creativity and the arts."
Iggy and Ludwig were both trying to decide if that meant Mama Peach was on their side of the argument or not. Iggy spoke first, "So then, what do you think we should do?"
Peach thought for a second and gave an idea. "Why don't you just ask Kamek to use his magic to support it?"
"Blasphemy!" called Ludwig.
"Why would you want to do that?" asked Iggy.
Finally, the two Koopalings had a common ground and walked away, proclaiming to one another how any solution would have been better than what Peach had suggested. Peach shrugged her shoulders and turned to Junior. "Well, do you want to help me build a snow Koopa then?"
"Sure!" Junior said. "It sounded like a good idea to me!"
Junior and Peach waved down Kamek, who had been busying himself by melting elaborate designs into the snow with his wand. "Yes, Your Majesties?"
"Grandpa Kamek, we need magic power! We want to make a big snow Koopa! No, wait! Bigger than big! Bigger than King Dad!"
Ah, there it was again. Grandpa Kamek, eh? The littlest Koopaling must have known he secretly liked the nickname; he chuckled to himself in delight. He waved his magic wand and before them stood a magnificently large snow Koopa that greatly resembled Bowser. He handed the princess a few nicely shaped coals, a few vegetables, and a long green scarf. "Have fun!" he called.
Peach handed a piece of coal to Junior who looked up at her and asked, "How are we gonna put his eyes on?"
Peach looked up at the enormous tower of snow before her. It was almost twice as tall as she was. "If I lift you up, do you think you can reach?"
"I don't think that's a good idea Mama Peach."
"Oh? Are you scared? It's okay, we'll think of another way."
"I'm not scared!" he cried defensively. "And I'll prove it, here we go, lift me up, let's do it!"
Peach grabbed Junior by his shell and tried to hoist him up. He was much heavier than she had estimated. Maybe Junior had been right about it being a bad idea. As she lifted him over her head, she lost her balance and the two royals tumbled backwards into the deep snow.
"Need a little help?" a deep voice boomed.
Peach poked her head up from the hole in the snow that she had created. She glanced at Junior who was shaking the snow off himself as a wet dog might shake water out of its fur. "That might be useful," she said, accepting Bowser's outstretched claw to get out of the snow pit.
"Alright, here we go!" Bowser grabbed Peach by the waist and situated her on his shoulder as he grabbed Junior in his other claw and handed him off to Peach. Then, he raised the both of them up so that Junior would be able to reach to put the eyes and scarf on the snow Koopa.
Back on the ground, Junior looked at the sculpture with pride. "King Dad, that's a statue of me when I'm bigger because it has a green scarf and so do I. I'm gonna look like that, right? I'm gonna grow up to be even bigger and badder than you!"
"Oh yeah?" Bowser asked, amused. "You think you're gonna be badder than me? I don't think you know just how bad I am, Junior. Nope, no way. I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson in bad!" With that, Bowser scooped up a clawful of snow and put it down Junior's shell.
Junior roared at the sudden icy sensation in his back and quickly retaliated with a speedy snowball, which hit his laughing father right in the snout. Realizing what he had just done, Junior ran wide-eyed towards his siblings screaming, "Help! Help! Snowball fight! Everyone against Dad!"
Thus, the snowball fight began! The Koopalings and Peach made a base of the frozen pond area while Bowser enlisted Kamek to join his side and help create giant snowballs to bomb the area.
Peach was breathless with exhilaration and adrenaline as she shouted commands like a seasoned military general. "Lemmy, roll up on the left and pelt them from there; Wendy, you take the right." Roy caused what appeared to be the defining moment in the battle. He suddenly leaped out from behind the makeshift bunker-wall of snow and charged straight into the enormous pine tree under which Bowser and Kamek were hiding. The tree shuddered on impact and released all the snow from its branches, covering the Koopa King and his advisor under a thick blanket of snow. The Koopalings cheered and whooped until the blanket of snow began to glow and shift. Unexpectedly, it burst off the two victims and magically formed itself into homing snowballs, which chased the Koopalings around and pelted them. The Koopalings ran amok trying to avoid the snowballs.
For Kamek, this was just too easy. Their little snowball fight had turned into a Koopaling herding game. Finally, he had the Koopalings and the princess surrounded by magically floating snowballs in their base, just as he was about to pelt them all, Larry jumped to the front.
"Not today, you wrinkled old geezer!" he yelled, and breathed an uncontrollable outburst of fire, which melted all the snowballs and would have, under normal circumstances, been very impressive for a novice. However, his misdirected flame weakened the frozen top of the pond on which all the Koopalings had been standing. The combined weight of the eight children plus the princess was too much for the damaged ice shelf to hold. They plunged into the freezing water.
Bowser roared in alarm and dove into the freezing water to find his youngest son and the princess. For the other Koopalings with functioning fire glands, the freezing water would not be much more than an uncomfortable inconvenience, but for Junior and Peach, the water could be enough to send them into hypothermic shock.
Though it only took a couple of seconds for Bowser to find Peach clutching onto Junior in the water, it felt like an eternity. He grabbed the both of them and called for Kamek to teleport them right away.
After teleportation, an army corps of Magikoopas worked to remove the water from the hair, clothes, and shells of the monarchs. After they had finished, Koopa guards took Peach and Junior, with Bowser hot on their heels, to the cozy living room where Peach had told her story the night before. They swaddled both Peach and Junior in extremely thick, fluffy blankets. Though her joints ached from the cold, Peach tried her best to stay close to Junior to keep him warm. The Koopa King grabbed the both of them and held them very close, using his fire glands to heat up his body and provide warmth.
After a while, Peach and Junior stopped shivering and, exhausted from stress, they both fell into a heavy sleep. At this point, Bowser let his internal temperature drop and closed his eyes to rest a little as well.
He was not sure what to feel. He was angry with Larry for his lack of common sense, but also proud that his son had produced his first truly devastating flame, an important rite of passage for a Koopaling. He was disappointed that the day did not go as smoothly as he had hoped; however, he was glad everyone was all right and not the least bit sad to be playing the pillow to his sleeping beauty. He heard the fire crackle, smelled the deliciously fragrant smoke, and thought the most delightful thoughts as he drifted to sleep with his princess and their son sleeping softly in his arms.
"Princess Toadstool, I think I speak on behalf of the entire council when I congratulate you on a job well done!"
Peach cast her eyes downwards as she received accolades for successfully negotiating a series of very favorable trade agreements between the Darklands and the Mushroom Kingdom.
However, the praise rung hollow in her ears, after all, she had not done a single thing in the way of negotiation while she was at Bowser's castle. All I've done is go on some strange quasi-date with Bowser and later been discovered falling asleep on his chest.
Still she smiled politely as the Prime Minister continued, "I don't know how you did it, but you certainly have a way of talking some sense into those shrewd monsters. Generally they're almost unbearable!"
Monsters? Peach thought about the adorable gaze of Junior and the other Koopalings. Even their father, as large and fearsome as he sometimes appeared, could be kind, gentle, and even caring. Sure, they were different, but they were far from monsters. However, she held her tongue. She did not want to appear too fond of the Darklandians, who had always caused problems for her kingdom.
She realized that Bowser had approved these generous trading agreements to help her conceal the fact that she had not done any legitimate political work during her stay. He also approved them as an incentive to her advisors to request the princess to visit his castle more regularly for "negotiations".
Generally, the Darklandian council tried to use their power to block trading agreements between the Mushroom Kingdom and other nations in hopes that the Mushroom Kingdom would have to arrange most of their trading with the Darklands. Confidentially, the hope was that a nearly exclusive trading situation would make the two kingdoms crucial allies, which in turn would make a bid for marriage between the two sovereigns more considerable.
It had been a week and a half since she returned to the quiet of her own castle. The whole experience was so surreal, if she did not have the gifts from the Koopalings, she might have guessed that it was all just a dream; a strange, strange, little dream.
The Prime Minister resumed briefing Peach on all of the various functions and appointments she would be having, starting tomorrow, the first day of the New Year. The first weeks of the New Year were always the busiest for the princess, for that is when new budgets met approval and many company owners opened new shops. This year would be no exception. However, tonight was the last night for a while that was solely for her enjoyment. She would be out in Central Square, ringing in the New Year with all of her best friends.
She realized that it had been a very long time since she had seen Mario. She wondered what he had been up to all this time. The carriage slowed to a stop and the door opened. They had arrived in the very busy Central Square. The princess was quite pleased to learn that she did not have to give any sort of speech and that she could go directly to visiting with her cousin and her friends. Amidst the crowd, Peach instantly spotted Daisy, standing arm and arm with Luigi in her usual bright yellow dress. Next to them was Mario looking extremely uncomfortable next to a short, portly woman who looked vaguely like--his mama! Of course! Peach had completely forgotten that Mario's Mama was coming to join the celebration this year.
"Hi Peachy!" called Daisy, rushing to greet her with one of her infamous bear hugs. "How's it going?"
Mario closed his eyes; the holy judgment time had come. He pointed to the media cameras, positioned in every possible location, to remind Mama to keep his secret.
"Don't worry so much, Mario. Your Mama knows how to keep a secret from those wicked gossips!" She pinched her son's cheeks affectionately. "Now introduce me to your sweet little fiancée-to-be!"
Mario gulped and walked towards Peach and Daisy.
"A pleasure to finally meet you," said Peach, shaking hands with the rotund woman before her. "Did your father come as well?" she inquired of Mario.
Mama answered, "Oh, I'm sure he's around here somewhere. You know men, always looking the other way when something important is happening right under their noses. Luckily, my Mario takes after me…"
Peach knew it was rude to let her mind wander, especially when talking to a person that she had just met, but she could not help wonder what Mama meant by "something important".
After Mama and Mario had left to go find Papa, Peach resumed wandering around with her cousin and Luigi. The entire square was lit up like a festival of lights and music. There were jugglers and other entertainers performing amazing feats, wonderfully lit up little booths selling all manner of foods and trinkets. Peach stopped into one booth and bought a spicy drink that reminded her of the drink she had at the Darklandian Bazaar. She sighed and thought about what Bowser and his Koopalings might be doing right now.
"What's up, Peachy? Something the matter?" Daisy asked, seeing her cousin's wistful look.
"What? No, I'm okay, I'm just--I started thinking about all the work I have to do, all those ceremonies and appointments."
"Aw, try not to think about it or else you'll spoil the one night you do have for yourself! C'mon, let's go play some ring toss! That ought to get your mind on something else!"
Bowser looked at Iggy with an unamused expression on his face. "You're cheating."
"No, really, I swear! That's checkmate, again!"
Bowser made a low growl in the back of his throat. "You've got to be kidding me. That's the sixth time tonight."
"Care to make it seven?" Iggy asked hopefully, this was going to be a new personal record.
"No," he growled. "I'm going to bed."
"But…" Iggy watched as his father trudged up the long stairs leading up to his room. Great. Now I have to put away all of these games by myself.
Bowser opened the doors to his room and slumped down onto his bed, feeling the soft red satin sheets under him. Although Wendy had assured him satin was a tacky choice for bedding material, Bowser liked the feel of it against his skin and it reminded him, ever so slightly, of one of Peach's dresses so he liked it even more. Thinking of Peach, he grabbed his photo album and looked flipped through the pages for what must have been the thousandth time.
First, there was the picture of everybody opening gifts. Bits of paper hung in the air and everybody seemed to be smiling. Peach even had a ribbon stuck to her hair. Then, there was a great picture of Junior, Larry, and Morton all snuggled up with Peach as she told stories. There were a few pictures of everybody playing in the snow, the snow Koopa, and Kamek enchanting snowballs. However, Bowser's favorite picture was on the last filled page. In that picture, Peach had fallen asleep with his arms around her, Junior in her arms. Everybody was fast asleep and looked completely at peace.
Bowser sighed; he could not believe how much he already missed her. He knew it was just going to get worse when the Koopalings went back to school and he would be alone again. He looked at the clock and wondered what Peach was doing at that moment.
Daisy emerged from the enchanting blue tent looking extremely pleased.
"What did she say?" Peach asked excitedly.
"I'm not supposed to tell you, that's why it's private," Daisy exclaimed. "Well go on, you're up!"
Peach giggled and brushed aside the gossamer curtains, which enclosed the small, circular room where a beautiful magician in pink and purple robes awaited her. The tent contained all manner of artifacts, antiques, and oddities.
"Hello dear princess,
'Tis me, Merluvlee,
I'll read your fortune,
And tonight it is free!
So glad you've arrived,
On this cold New Year's Eve,
Now what type of fortune,
Had you hoped to receive?"
"Oh, um, well…"
Merluvlee smiled wickedly,
"Not sure my dear princess?
I know just your fate.
You've no sweetheart I see,
So let's find you a date!
Now choose some cards,
Leave the upshot to chance,
Close your eyes,
And think of romance!"
Peach closed her eyes and tried to think about all of the romantic things that she had ever seen or heard, while Merluvlee chanted a spell. She thought about that flighty feeling, the flipping in her stomach. She thought of red roses and the Toads at the teahouse. Of Daisy and Luigi's relationship, little presents, cuddles and kisses. She thought about everything until--
"My dear, we are ready,
You may open your eyes,
Let us flip the cards,
So we may see your surprise."
Peach flipped over her first card. It featured an ornate illustration of a court jester.
"The fool is so brave,
The fool remains fearless,
In the face of revolution,
The fool's life is peerless."
Peach flipped over the second card to reveal a happy couple holding hands.
"The lovers rejoice,
In a field full of greens,
A smart girl like you,
Ought to know what that means!"
The third card revealed a segmented wheel covered in ancient runes.
The Wheel of Fortune,
She spins most rapid,
Life's full of changes,
So it'll never be vapid."
Her last card revealed a shining crescent moon.
"Mysterious Luna,
Guides with her light,
Not all's as it seems,
Don't be fooled by the night."
Peach thanked the fortuneteller for her services, though Peach had no idea what exactly she had received. As far as she could tell, Merluvlee had told her she would find love, but not everything was how it seemed, that there would be changes, and that she should be brave. She shook her head; it really did not get much more generic than that. As she was about to walk away from the tent to visit another booth, she heard Merluvlee speaking again. She was telling Mario's fortune! Though a moment ago Peach had been proud of herself for not taking fortune telling seriously, she was now suddenly very curious to hear what Merluvlee would say to Mario. Was it wrong to listen?
It's just a game. I don't think Mario would mind; nobody really takes this stuff seriously. She continued to rationalize her actions as she snuck closer to the tent to listen closer.
"Yes, 'tis obvious you're smitten,
It comes as no surprise,
But your life shall turn most sour,
If you do not stop all these lies!
About all these feelings,
The princess you must tell,
Or else you shall be cheerless,
And the princess will as well."
Peach could not believe what she had just heard! He's obviously smitten and lying about it? He needs to tell me? Or else we'll both be lonely! Of course! She could not believe it. He loved her and had been hiding it all this time? Why would he hide it from me? Maybe he was just worried about our friendship, or maybe it's because I'm a princess and he was worried about what I would think.
Peach went over to her cousin, smiling and lost in thought.
"Looks like you got some good news too!" Daisy called happily. "We've got about ten more minutes. Have you thought of your wish for when the New Year's comet passes?"
"Not yet. I guess I should hurry up and start thinking."
Peach began to daydream about all the things she would like to wish. How about less work this year? She thought about Mario and going on romantic dates with him. Though a few months ago, she was reluctant to even think about Mario as being anything more than a friend, the more she thought about how he might be secretly in love with her, the more she liked the idea of being together with him. Therefore, she thought of her wish, a wish of romance between Mario and herself.
"Ten…nine…"
Peachy looks so happy; I hope that fortuneteller told her something good. She deserves to be happy.
"Eight…seven…"
Mama mia, this is bad. Mama has had such a good night, how can I tell her that the princess isn't anywhere close to being my fiancée?
"Six…five…"
I wonder when he'll tell me how he feels.
"Four…three…"
Stars, hear my wish. I'm so tired of being alone. Bring her back to me and make her see…
"Two…one…"
Peach closed her eyes in preparation to make her big wish when she caught a whiff of smoke. Her stomach fluttered and she opened her eyes and whispered, "Bowser?"
"Happy New Year!" Bells sounded and whistles shrieked. Music began to play and the citizens cheered. Peach stood spellbound for a moment, before she noticed a long trail of smoke coming from a nearby hipster Toad, who was smoking while wearing an expression that somehow made tragedy look, all at once, like the coolest and yet most boring thing in the world. She looked down in shame and embarrassment. She had wasted her wish because she was thinking about the Koopa King, of all people.
However, up in Star Road, a familiar messenger smirked to himself. He knew Peach's wish was not wasted. "Interesting." He grinned. The one once called Geno made his way up to Star Haven to hand-deliver the wish. Twink was going to want to see this one, and Geno wanted to be there to see his expression when he finally did.